Yamaha: Folger wildcards "not in our programme"

Yamaha MotoGP boss Lin Jarvis has downplayed the chances of new European test rider Jonas Folger making any wildcard appearances this year.

Folger's rookie season in 2017 was cut short when he was diagnosed with Gilbert's syndrome, and the German then skipped the entire 2018 season to recover before being signed by Yamaha as a test rider for 2019.

"Of the wildcard riders, Bradley [Smith] is doing five. Maybe [that's] too much. If you’re doing five races in a season, a lot of your focus will surely go towards prepping yourself for those races.

"So let’s wait and see. Jonas has been out of the game for an entire year.

"Firstly he needs to get back into the game, ride regularly, then when he gets up to speed if then we find out he’s very fast and that entering him as a wildcard will help, then maybe we can consider."

Yamaha fielded Folger and Nakasuga in the MotoGP shakedown at Sepang last week that precedes the official test, and Jarvis said he was encouraged by both test riders' performance there.

"I was talking to [Yamaha Racing President Kouichi] Tsuji this morning, he was pretty happy with the Sepang shakedown test," he said. "That means the ideas we brought seem to be working well, which gives me a positive feeling going there."